Inspiration strikes in the most unlikely of places. My husband and I were having a date night in Ellicot City, MD. Ellicot City is a quaint and historic area full of art, restaurants, and little boutiques. I wish I could remember the name of this particular artsy store....it may come to me later. They had unique gifts of handcrafted jewelry, art, quilts, AND little Eco Notebooks. The tiny notebooks looked so adorable that I thought of buying one on the spot, BUT the thrifty gal in me said, "I can make this...it looks simple". And it is. This little notebook would be a great handmade Valentine's Day gift for a gal or crafty fellow. I even thought about replacing Valentine's Day cards with these Eco notebooks, but let's be honest that takes "Over Achiever" to a whole new level!

Step 1.) Locate an old item in your house to re-purpose. An old pair of shoes or purse would work well. The material that you use should be pliable, but stiff. For example, I am using suede. Cut out a rectangular-sized piece of fabric in the fabric of your choice. My notebook is pretty tiny. Estimated measurements are 10"(w) X 5"(h).

Step 2.) Use a thin piece of fabric for backing and cut out a heart shape on the front(optional). If you cut out the heart, take a tiny piece of fabric and hot glue the fabric(pattern up) in the heart-shaped window. Take the backing and lightly hot glue in place.

Step 4.) Gather your paper. I used construction, but you could use card stock too. Fold 3 sections of 5 to 6 pieces of paper in half. I used pink, yellow, and white colors. Cut to fit the notebook.

Step 5.) Going from the crease of your folded paper sections push your needle into the spine of your notebook and back through. Tie the strings in a knot and cut excess string. Do this 4 times for each section of paper.

Step 6.) Cut a long and thin piece of fabric to tie your notebook. Hot glue to the back. Wrap and tuck to tie. I used type writer style stamps to stamp my initials in the back. I also tucked a tiny colored pencil made from a tree with my notebook. You did it!

I hope you have as much fun making your little notebook as I did! I would love to see some of the creative up-cycled notebooks that you come up with. If you have any questions please feel free to leave them below. XO.

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